40K Time Trial Pacing

ironmtngrl

So I just signed up for a 40K Time Trial bike event two week from now.  I have a power meter.  I've never done an event like this before.  How do I pace a flat 40K TT?

 

Thanks Team!

Bev

 

Norton

Pulling up a chair, popping up a bowl of popcorn. This should be interesting.

Al Truscott

Bev - With your w/kg, I suspect you can do this in 1:0X , with "X" closer to 9 than 1. So your power (NP) for the event should be less than 100% of your FTP, but not by much.

I'm a firm believer in starting easier than you think you should for about 1-2 miles. So, as a ball park, start @ 92% of your FTP, and hit 95-7% by 10 minutes. Hold it there, and see how you feel by mile 20 (about 30K). Anything left? Work up to 100%. That's assuming you know your "outside" FTP.

Again, the hardest part is going easy at the start, but it's always the best strategy.

 

Coach Rich

Caveat: I've never done a 40k TT. I have done many 20k TT's around the Rose Bowl. If I were to do a 40k TT, this is how I'd do it:

I would know my FTP and that will be my whip/benchmark for the event.

First 20': probably ride 10w under FTP

20-40': ride at FTP

40-50' try 5w-10w over FTP

50-finish: bury myself

I would ride any hills or grades with my EN Hat on, staying within or slightly over my FTP goals on the up's and stay on the gas across the crests and any downhills.

Most importantly, I'd view TT #1 as a learning experience. Learn how to pace it better and do a better job of pacing on the second TT, assuming this is a series or something.

Al Truscott

Remember, Rich would be riding this in under an hour, so he can afford to have higher % FTP. But the pacing strategy he describes sounds perfect. For any stand alone bike TT or running race.

ironmtngrl

Thanks for the wonderful advice! I don't know my "outdoor" FTP, but it can't be too far off from indoors I think.

Coach Rich

Posted By Beverly Richardson on 28 Feb 2011 10:23 AM

Thanks for the wonderful advice! I don't know my "outdoor" FTP, but it can't be too far off from indoors I think.

Actually, it can be off by a bit. Still, use my pacing guidance then bury yourself in the last 20'

chris malone

Beverly,

What the wise guys said above and also get a serious warm up in. Bring your trainer and warm up for 10-15 mins if you can, making sure within that time to not simply spin but get yourself well up into z4/100% ft for a short period, leaving yourself maybe 10 minutes to start time if possible. Sometimes these races are quite disorganized so that's tough to judge but you don't want to use any part of the race to get warmed up. It's over fast.

And if in doubt, go harder. Good luck.

cm

Michael Byerts

One way to think about a 40K time trial is to break it up into 4x10K's. The idea is to keep each 10K within a few percentage points of the others. The 3rd quarter is the slowest (unless you really blew the pacing, most people can pick up the pace with only 10K to go on the bike), so it's especially critical to start slow enough to allow that 3rd 10K to be done almost as fast as the first 2. Although EN disagrees with Joe Friel on a lot of issues, time trial pacing is one that I think we do agree with him. Here's a 2009 post he did about ideal time trial pacing.
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/time-trial-pacing.html

Chris M.

Posted By Beverly Richardson on 28 Feb 2011 10:23 AM

Thanks for the wonderful advice! I don't know my "outdoor" FTP, but it can't be too far off from indoors I think.

Bev mine is at least 10% higher outdoors, maybe more, and I'm basing this solely on RPE since I have not tested outdoors with power yet.  

For instance, current FTP 306, 2x20 outside yesterday at 328 and 339, and it did NOT feel as hard as even the 2x12 and 2x15s have been feeling inside.  

I would definitely try to get a handle on your outdoor number before the race if you can, and use Rich's great pacing advice.  

Nemo Brauch

FWIW- Beverly NAILED this Time Trial pulling in 1st place for the Women Cat 4 group. And I think Al nailed estimating her time too!

[Deleted User]

Well done Beverly - 40K TT are murderous! ;-)

Coach Rich

Awesome! Race report?! Would love to hear about the race and pacing

ironmtngrl

Race Report:



I was pumped up for this race. I thought of it as my chance to really see what I had gained with all the OS work. I waxed my bike, and took every contraption off of it that I thought might make it less aero. Installed wheel cover, and HED Jet 60 in front. It was beauuutiful! Took my tricked out hippie Eurovan and crashed in the parking lot the night before the race, which seemed a bit of a sketchy neighborhood, not sure I'd do that again. Race day: followed everone's advice, warmed up 15 min on the trainer with some Z4 minutes. Finished about 10 min before the race. Seeded as about the 5th female. Smile on my face while waiting; I love this stuff! I think, "does smiling make me less aero?"



Split the race up into about 10ks and hit the lap button between each. Started my watch 5 seconds early. First 10k, right on target about 10 watts below my TP (190). I notice the time is super slow, like 18 min. I must not be working hard enough because I can do math and figure out that is like a 1:12 which is much slower than I want/expect. Second 10k, I try to get the avg watts up, but it just ain't happening. I don't feel exhausted or anything, just can't keep the average up. The terrain is almost perfectly flat, some little up and down grades, but no "hills." I figure out that it is a slight up on the way out, so I'm less upset about the times. I figure I'll do better on the way back.



3rd 10k: still fighting for the watts, watching the meter, but it is staying the same. 4th 10k: I forget about power readings and just decide to push it to the finish line and focus on the things I have figured out help me push the most watts on teh trainer: fast upstroke, maintain momentum by pushing over the top, and keeping my lower abs engaged. Cross the finish line 5 seconds shy of 1:10. I was disappointed in the time at first, but then I saw that the two cat 1/2/3 women did the course in 1:08:33 and 1:09:48, and I was pretty close to that, so that made me feel better. Stuck around and got a cool medal for 1st place Cat 4! Woot woot! Very happy with the result, but still think I did not get as much out of myself as I could/should. So I am happy that this is an opportunity to learn something.



Why couldn't I push the watts?

Theory 1: I'm used to doing intervals upright on the bike. For the time trial I was down in max aero position. I'm thinking my bike fit could be improved. Maybe I'm too scrunched up and losing excessive watts. I plan to work with TTBikeFit soon in person, and even swap out my frame if need be. (I'm 5'0" on 48cm Cervelo P2)

Theory 2: Pushing a wattage number outside is a skill gived the varying ups/downs of the road. I need to get my butt out on the roads and learn to push my 190 watts on the road.

Theory 3: I am a wuss and need to work on my HTFU skills and hurt myself more! I was not sore the next day(s) so I don't think I pushed hard enough.

Theory 4: Something to do with cadence.  Indoor intervals my cadence is always mid-80 to low-90s.  For some reason on the few rides I've done outside, super high cadences feel right.  Avg. for this TT was around 100.



Any advice appreciated. I may do TT #2, but it is a week before my HIM.



The power numbers were:  (btw - the Garmin 310xt show different averages which I was using during the race, than WKO does  after the race.  Garmin averages were: 177, 180, 177, 186)



Lap 1 (0:18:10.20):

Duration: 18:09

Work: 190 kJ

TSS: 25.3 (intensity factor 0.928)

Norm Power: 176

VI: 1.01

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 6.22 mi

Elevation Gain: 20 ft

Elevation Loss: 51 ft

Grade: -0.1 % (-36 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 325 175 watts

Cadence: 46 139 103 rpm

Speed: 0 24.2 20.6 mph

Pace 2:29 0:00 2:55 min/mi

Altitude: 41 77 60 ft

Crank Torque: 0 577 144 lb-in



Lap 2 (0:17:53.62):

Duration: 17:53

Work: 192 kJ

TSS: 26.7 (intensity factor 0.946)

Norm Power: 180

VI: 1

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 6.356 mi

Elevation Gain: 102 ft

Elevation Loss: 72 ft

Grade: 0.1 % (28 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 251 179 watts

Cadence: 70 139 102 rpm

Speed: 0 24.5 21.3 mph

Pace 2:27 0:00 2:49 min/mi

Altitude: 10 81 41 ft

Crank Torque: 0 213 149 lb-in



Lap 3 (0:16:41.60):

Duration: 16:40

Work: 173 kJ

TSS: 23.4 (intensity factor 0.917)

Norm Power: 174

VI: 1

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 5.998 mi

Elevation Gain: 10 ft

Elevation Loss: 39 ft

Grade: -0.1 % (-32 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 338 174 watts

Cadence: 44 134 98 rpm

Speed: 0 26.3 21.6 mph

Pace 2:17 0:00 2:47 min/mi

Altitude: 28 66 41 ft

Crank Torque: 0 468 150 lb-in



Lap 4 (0:17:15.66):

Duration: 17:16

Work: 189 kJ

TSS: 27 (intensity factor 0.969)

Norm Power: 184

VI: 1

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 6.401 mi

Elevation Gain: 41 ft

Elevation Loss: 10 ft

Grade: 0.1 % (24 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 264 183 watts

Cadence: 70 119 97 rpm

Speed: 0 29 22.2 mph

Pace 2:04 0:00 2:42 min/mi

Altitude: 32 74 54 ft

Crank Torque: 0 319 160 lb-in



Entire workout (178 watts):

Duration: 1:10:01

Work: 746 kJ

TSS: 102.5 (intensity factor 0.941)

Norm Power: 179

VI: 1.01

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 24.992 mi

Elevation Gain: 173 ft

Elevation Loss: 184 ft

Grade: -0.0 % (-17 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 338 178 watts

Cadence: 44 177 100 rpm

Speed: 0 29 21.4 mph

Pace 2:04 0:00 2:48 min/mi

Altitude: 10 81 49 ft

Crank Torque: 0 577 151 lb-in

Norton

Beverly,

Great race AND report.

I'll vote for Theory#1; we all seem to lose power down in the aero position compared to the upright posture, but the ultimate issue is speed; am I faster? You sure are! Well done.

Nemo Brauch

What Bill said. Congrats!

Peter Greagg

times three, well done and congratulations.  I was particularly impressed with your VI!